There was a mixed response to Dundalk's performance at Oriel Park tonight, with some acknowledging a significant effort while others are adamant only a new manager will rectify the current lack of points and disappointing position in the league table.
Dundalk started strong, Rafter taking the lead for the home side within a minute of the kick off and the team putting in a much improved first half shift. The reaction from the crowd was positive, ripples of applause ringing around the stand in response to some lovely passages of play. The team were clapped off the field at the break and there was a feeling that there could be and possibly would be more goals in the game for Dundalk.
The second half started with a very sudden change in fortune, with Monaghan scoring an equaliser. Naturally, heads dropped for Dundalk's young players. A team's response to this scenario is an interesting one, with many influencing factors. Possibly one of the biggest is feedback from the crowd, which in this case was an immediate negative reaction that it could be claimed was not in proportion to the situation. From the time that the goal went in every error on the pitch was greeted with calls for the head of the player at fault or the manager (depending, arbitrarily, on which player had made the mistake). Heads were only going to drop further in the face of the noise from the sidelines, and it was not really a great surprise when the second goal was conceded. With some support and a feeling of the fans being on their side then it may have been possible to turn things around but that was not to be.
Those running the club must feel a similar reaction off the field to the one directed at the players on the field. Any attempt to push the club forward is greeted by scepticism and any move that appears to fans to be less than their idea of perfect is greeted by extreme negativity. The owner gets zero credit these days for the time, energy and most of all money that he has invested in the club from those who will contribute none of those to the cause. His alleged motives are used as an excuse/reason not to support the club, financially or otherwise, and those who see him as the latest fall guy can't see past the agenda to get him out of the club. In the process they are oblivious to the fact that trying to push Gerry or Sean out without a thought for an alternative solution is only going to cause the death of our beloved club.
I worry for Dundalk FC, I worry that our fans are slowly killing our own club. In similar positions, fans of Cork, Derry, Shamrock Rovers and others rallied to save their club. At Oriel it seems to be more important to be proven right and have a good moan than to do something constructive to get our club back on track.
It struck me at our game in Turner's Cross how different our fans are from the Leesiders'. Their fans turn up in numbers, get behind their team and manager and do whatever they can to assist in achieving a win. Our fans have not yet realised, after all this time, that we are no longer top dogs in the league but are now in a dog fight for survival.
Time to show your colours, lilywhites, can we do what it takes or are we giving up before the fight is fought?
Dundalk started strong, Rafter taking the lead for the home side within a minute of the kick off and the team putting in a much improved first half shift. The reaction from the crowd was positive, ripples of applause ringing around the stand in response to some lovely passages of play. The team were clapped off the field at the break and there was a feeling that there could be and possibly would be more goals in the game for Dundalk.
The second half started with a very sudden change in fortune, with Monaghan scoring an equaliser. Naturally, heads dropped for Dundalk's young players. A team's response to this scenario is an interesting one, with many influencing factors. Possibly one of the biggest is feedback from the crowd, which in this case was an immediate negative reaction that it could be claimed was not in proportion to the situation. From the time that the goal went in every error on the pitch was greeted with calls for the head of the player at fault or the manager (depending, arbitrarily, on which player had made the mistake). Heads were only going to drop further in the face of the noise from the sidelines, and it was not really a great surprise when the second goal was conceded. With some support and a feeling of the fans being on their side then it may have been possible to turn things around but that was not to be.
Those running the club must feel a similar reaction off the field to the one directed at the players on the field. Any attempt to push the club forward is greeted by scepticism and any move that appears to fans to be less than their idea of perfect is greeted by extreme negativity. The owner gets zero credit these days for the time, energy and most of all money that he has invested in the club from those who will contribute none of those to the cause. His alleged motives are used as an excuse/reason not to support the club, financially or otherwise, and those who see him as the latest fall guy can't see past the agenda to get him out of the club. In the process they are oblivious to the fact that trying to push Gerry or Sean out without a thought for an alternative solution is only going to cause the death of our beloved club.
I worry for Dundalk FC, I worry that our fans are slowly killing our own club. In similar positions, fans of Cork, Derry, Shamrock Rovers and others rallied to save their club. At Oriel it seems to be more important to be proven right and have a good moan than to do something constructive to get our club back on track.
It struck me at our game in Turner's Cross how different our fans are from the Leesiders'. Their fans turn up in numbers, get behind their team and manager and do whatever they can to assist in achieving a win. Our fans have not yet realised, after all this time, that we are no longer top dogs in the league but are now in a dog fight for survival.
Time to show your colours, lilywhites, can we do what it takes or are we giving up before the fight is fought?
